Alarming statistics: Teenage pregnancies in Philippines on an upward trend

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Before formally assuming the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines, then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had made known to the public that he preferred to limit the number of children in every Filipino family to just three. He said then that he was a realist even as he was a Christian, and there was need to address the problem of overpopulation. Whether he will make good his threat (or promise) remains to be seen.

President Duterte did mention the 3-child limit per family, but the new Department of Health Secretary Ubial said that she does not approve of this and will concentrate on family planning instead. A strengthening of the education program for younger individuals should be developed too. This is the most effective way for teenage pregnancies to be controlled because believe it or not, many of the youth get pregnant without even knowing what they're doing.

I am all for the RH bill. Give out the condoms and contraceptive pills! Definitely we need to educate people about responsible parenthood and responsible sexual activity as a whole..but still hand out the contraceptives. There are those people who live in a box with children in every corner and yet mom and dad are still able to procreate with all of them in the room. I have a feeling I know which hospital Marinelle is referring to. I did not rotate there as a clerk but I had the opportunity to s...

When I was a medical clerk, I had the chance to work in one of the largest obstetric facility in the country. It was an eye-opener for me because we deliver an average of 80-100 babies per day. Majority of the mothers are in the teenage group and a lot of them are already multigravid. Imagine a 19-year old giving birth for the 4th time! The Reproductive Health Bill (RH bill) allows liberal access to contraceptives, birth control methods to promote maternal health and responsible parenthood. Unfo...

Well this issue does not just confine to Phillipines. Due to globalization and as the supposedly conservative Eastern societies gets more influenced by the Western world, the age of premaritial sexual activity increases and hence the number of teenage pregnancies is on the rising trend. I agree with appropriate sexual education provided by parents/guardians and school teachers to let the youngster be aware of the consequences of teenage pregnancies and the detrimental effects that can happen. We...

Teenage pregnancy is a growing problem and a health issue, and the numbers have significantly increased over the past years in Sri Lanka as well. I don't have the statistics to prove it, but as doctors working in primary healthcare, it is obvious. As Ziwie pointed out, teenage pregnancies come with two sides of medical concerns. One is the physical and psychosocial problems the child and the parents have to face. And the other side is the risk of unprotected intercourse among teenagers, who ...

Teenage pregnancy is a major social issue . the mother will not be psychologically and financially ready to take care of a child. It disrupt their studies and their family. Teenage pregnancy rising trend also shows more teenagers are probably engage in unprotected intercourse putting them at risk of sexually transmitted infection as well as psychological exploitation. As a doctor, it raise out vigilance on any complaint of menstrual plain , unexplained per vaginal bleeding, amenorrhea, vaginal d...

RH Bill still stay as a controversial topic in the Philippines. Having the said statistics over the past two decades is greatly alarming knowing that the sudden increase of fertility rate is coming from the marginalized people. For me, imparting knowledge about responsible parenthood will still go over and above than pushing this RH Bill of limiting your children into three. As long as the family is capable of raising their children responsibly, giving birth to more than three is alright. I know...